26 | www.PetfoodIndustry.com
A rise in pet ownership and a shift
in consumer preferences has opened
doors for domestic pet food brands
in South Korea to compete with
major foreign importers
Photo by Karakoram | Dreamstime
South Korean pet food
brands fighting foreign
competition
Foreign brands continue to hold majority shares of the
South Korean pet food market.
ANNA GIRGENTI
Income growth and popularity in pet ownership, especially dogs, have increased
demand for pet food in South Korea,
according to a US Department of
Agriculture (USDA) Foreign
Agricultural Service (FAS)
on the global
report released in 2016. The
pet food market
report shows that foreign
companies are dominating
www.PetfoodIndustry.com/
the
market, as 60 percent of all
pet-food-market-data
pet food consumed is imported
and 40 percent is domestically
produced.
In 2015, South Korea imported US$148
million worth of pet food, an 11 percent increase
from US$133 million in 2014. Respectively,
imports from the US increased 17 percent to
US$39.9 million from US$34 million (see Figure 1).
More
Foreign brands exporting to South Korea
According to a Euromonitor International
report on dog food in South Korea released in
May 2017, US-based Royal Canin Korea held the
highest percent value share of any foreign brand
during 2016 at 15 percent. A Euromonitor report
on cat food in South Korea found that Royal
Canin Korea also dominated 2016 cat food sales
with a 24 percent value share that year. Wet
cat food performed particularly well that year,
leading to a 17 percent increase in value sales for
the company.
After Royal Canin Korea, Lotte Nestlé Korea
held the second-largest value share at 11.5
percent, and Mars Korea Inc. came in third at
10.6 percent.
As South Korean pets eat more healthily
and have access to adequate veterinary care,
October 2017
Industry